Sherif Sedky Named AUC New Provost

March 19, 2014, Cairo – The American University in Cairo (AUC) announced today the appointment of Professor Sherif Sedky as its new provost, succeeding Provost Mahmoud El Gamal, who will be leaving AUC at the end of the academic year to return to his research at Rice University . Sedky, professor of physics at AUC, has been on leave from AUC to serve as the Academic President of Zewail City of Science and Technology.  “Sherif Sedky is well-known to the AUC community through his previous work in the physics department, at the Yousef Jameel Science and Technology Research Center and as associate dean of graduate studies and research at the School of Sciences and Engineering. Not only is he a skilled and dedicated administrator, he is also an accomplished scholar and scientist, and is familiar with the University's operations. This knowledge, coupled with his talent, commitment and expertise, will be an asset for us as he assumes his new role as provost,” said Lisa Anderson, president of AUC.Sedky received his Bachelor of Science, with honors, in electronics engineering in 1992 from Cairo University. In 1995, he earned his master's in engineering physics from Cairo University. Then he joined the Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) group of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC) in Leuven, Belgium, where he received a second master's degree in 1996 and a doctorate in 1998, both from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. "I'm delighted to be back at AUC and hope to work closely with students, faculty and staff to maintain the University as a center of excellence and distinction in Egypt, the region and worldwide. We all need to work together in a collaborative spirit to effectively advance this mission, and to be innovative and forward-looking as we tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead." Sedky is the recipient of the 2007 Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors Award granted by The American University in Cairo; the prestigious 2002 Egyptian National Award in Advanced Technological Sciences, offered by the Academy of National Research; as well as the graduate studies award from Cairo University in 1996. Sedky's biography is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World. Sedky holds numerous patents dealing with the introduction of new techniques for controlling the physical properties of thin films by either alloying different materials together or by localized thermal treatments using short-laser pulses. Sedky has also invented new miniaturized devices that can convert physical phenomena such as infrared radiation, linear acceleration, angular velocity and temperature into electrical signals. In 2003, he established a MEMS fabrication facility at AUC.  Sedky authored and coauthored approximately 90 scientific articles published in highly ranked international journals and conferences. His work has been cited 623 times and his H index is 13. In addition, he is the author of a book titled, Post-processing Techniques for Integrated MEMS, published by Artec House in 2006. In addition, Sedky authored a book chapter in the Handbook of Computer Vision and Applications, published by Academic Press in 1999.  Sedky is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the Materials Research Society. He also served on the scientific committees of several international conferences.